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Pheonix Copley celebrates with Will Ferrell after 12th win in 14 starts with LA Kings

By Ian Oland

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January 12, 2023 10:02 pm

Several former Washington Capitals players have seen their careers revitalized outside of DC this season. Daniel Sprong, Jonas Siegenthaler, Ilya Samsonov, and Vitek Vanecek are all having strong seasons with their new teams.

Another player who was seemingly left for dead was goaltender Pheonix Copley. Copley, 30, went from being a backup goaltender in the AHL to now high-fiving movie stars in the NHL.

Copley has won 12 of his 14 starts for the Kings during the 2022-23 season. After his latest victory, a 4-3 W over the San Jose Sharks, Copley skated over to the glass and high-fived Will Ferrell.

“From North Pole, Alaska, to Buddy The Elf, Pheonix Copley and Will Ferrell share a moment after a 4-3 win,” the announcer perfectly says in the video.

Ferrell is a longtime Kings fan who has become a staple at games this season.

Per NHL.com:

In December, Ferrell opened up about his Kings fandom on the YouTube show “Hot Ones.”

Ferrell sported a Kings sweatshirt on the show and talked about how he mimics the video he made for the team when they show him on the jumbotron in the arena. When they cut to him after the hype video airs, he screams “Go Kings Go” while incorporating a karate chop.

“I don’t know why I’m screaming because no one can hear me, I’m in a big stadium,” Ferrell said in the YouTube video. “But that gets a really good reaction…it gets the place going…it gets the people going.”

Meanwhile, Copley got one of the biggest breaks of his career when he was summoned to the NHL full-time on December 1 after the Kings gave up on Cal Petersen and demoted him. Copley initially split starts with Jonathan Quick, but since late December, he has become the team’s number one goalie in net.

“All the minutes he’s played have been pretty solid,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said per CBS Sports. “He’s giving us a sense of confidence right now.”

“I’m just trying to make the saves, not overthink it and trust myself,” Copley said. “Whatever is going to happen, happens.”

The LA Times wrote a feature holiday story on Copley calling him the surprise Christmas gift the Kings needed.

Copley was a black ace on the Capitals’ Stanley Cup championship team in 2018 and performed admirably as Braden Holtby’s backup during the 2018-19 season. But he didn’t get much of a chance from Capitals coaches or management after that, spending almost all of his time exclusively with Hershey.

Copley has posted a 2.59 goals against average and .904 save percentage in 14 games with the Kings. He signed a one-year, $825k contract with Los Angeles Kings over the offseason.

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